When it is hard to give thanks...

 

Our friend, Scott, lost his 15 yr old granddaughter this week after a valiant fight with cancer.  Even though we all knew this day was close, and now her suffering is gone, there is so much pain with loosing someone so young.  I pray for strength for all of them.


Getting wrapped up in our day to day lives it is so easy to loose track of the blessings we have each day.  I hope on this Thanksgiving day that everyone I know will join me and wrap our arms around our children and let them know how thankful we are to be blessed with them in our lives.

And I give thanks that I have each of you in my life also...

Fundraisers!

So far this year I worked to get the elementary schools magazine sale and candy sale fundraisers all done and now the middle school is selling Butter Braids and Pastry Puffins which is fine I knew there would be additional fundraisers now that Sky has moved up but I just found out that the middle school ASB will be starting another fundraiser before the holidays selling cookie dough!  After the new year I have basket bingo and regular catalogue fundraisers and we are adding Skate nights, a rummage sale and a fun run.  I am not looking forward to how many other fundraisers the middle school is going to do. 

I want to do everything I can to help the schools and the kids but I just don't know how much more I can do.  I have no time to do something just for me.

Sky's reading class is going to The Nutcracker in Seattle next month and I did sign up to be a chaperone.  Yes I have to deal with a group of obnoxious 6th graders but I get to go to the theatre!  Now I am packing up my office/craft room so we can give Sky his own room and I feel I may never have my own space again.  I can't let this happen!  I really need to find a way to still have craft time.

The first thing I need to do is decide what is important.  Get organized and then I should have the time to myself.  Hopefully before the end of the year Sky's room and the front porch will be done.  Keeping fingers crossed!

Truck or Treat...

I got to attend truck or treat for the first time this year at Central.  I have always been at Brady's class at Lincoln on Halloween and Shane when to Central.  This year the middle school does nothing for Halloween so I decorated my van and got in costume and had some fun with the kids!

The day before Sky had his first concert:

And the afterschool program taught the kids how to make fake wounds:

all and all a fairly interesting week around here.

My problem...

So I have an issue and I am having a hard time coming up with the answer.  Since my first baby entered school I have kept every piece of paper they have brought home.  I have weekly classroom updates from Mrs. Coyote's kindergarten class, I have every lunch menu sent home for the last 5 years...well technically I have 2 for every month for the last 3 years.  Every homework assignment, every picture painted, every name list for valentines, every scrap that came home I have kept in separate boxes, one for each kid for each separate year for fear of tossing something very important.

Did you know that after a while these boxes start to pile up!  I have many more years of all these papers coming home.  I had gone looking for some type of storage boxes when Sky was in 1st grade in hopes of more secure storage but now I am starting to think I need to let some of this paper go.  I could keep some of the art projects, although the schools we have attended have not been much into that kind of thing.

Of course not everything is a nice neat 81/2 by 11 sheet either, there are the odd big pictures and 3d projects...the really big stuff this last couple years I have tried to take picture of because in this small house it doesn't take long for that stuff to get ruined in the boys room and I just have not had the space to store it.

Will my boys think I am horrible if I toss out a bunch of these papers?  What should I keep and what should I toss?  I have lots of reminders sent home about various activities at school.  I can toss those correct?  Or should I scrap that stuff?  Or should I scan every sheet and save them on a hard drive?

Military action...

So the boys wanted to go as characters from their favorite tv show, Stargate SG-1.  I couldn't find any actual costumes for the show so they went with these and I am going to change out the patches and try to make some that look like SG-1 patches,

Originally Bray wanted to be Dr. Daniel Jackson and Sky wanted to be Col. Jack O'Neil...or was the other way around? 

I still think I have strange kids.  At least the farm is safe from a Goa'uld attach!

bubble bath here I come...

I am so excited, Shane almost has the bathroom done!

My new tub with jets!  Can't wait to get in with a glass of wine and couple candles lit and sit back and have a long hot bath!  Haven't been able to take a bath since we left Spokane.

I really like the new sink and vanity.  The walls are a light mint green color and I LOVE it!

It is exciting when a room is done but I am so tired of having my house tore up!  Next thing that is going to be done is the front porch I think, I hope!  When the rain hits we don't have any covered area out there and it becomes such a muddy mess!

happy yellow...

Ok, so I am starting to put my kitchen back together but things are going real slow. 

At first I was afraid of yellow, and the first yellow we chose was too bright according to Shane so he got a new color that is closer to butter.

I just want to have every cupboard organized.  Everything in its place kind of house.  no clutter.  I am starting to think that is never going to happen to me.  I just moved my desk into the kitchen and had to move 3 boxes of misc. crap that has no home in the kitchen yet.  Do I need those things?  no...but some of them were given to me and I have this obsession to hold onto everything anyone has given me.  I don't want to hurt their feelings if they ever find out I got rid of it.  This means if anyone wants to see the Christmas card they sent me in say 1996...I have it. 

Ok, I am going to commit right now to donating a box of kitchen items that I have either A. not used since I moved here 2 years ago or B. don't like...even if it was a gift.  I better be sure I have a nice bottle of wine chilled to get though this though!